Customer Reviews

The Milepost 2009: Alaska Travel Planner

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The 2009 edition of "The Milepost" is the current version of the most uniquely valuable travel guide to Alaska and Northwest Canada (British Columbia, Yukon, and Alberta Provinces). This guide is a must-have resource for the tourist, RVer, and North Country camper.

Alaska and Northwest Canada cover a huge geographic area with significant terrain and weather variations and far less travel infrastructure than most travelers are used to in the lower '48 states. Travelers should not expect gas stations, restaurants, and franchise hotels at every exit off the main roads, nor should they expect that facilities or even roads are open year-round. Dangerous weather and driving conditions are possible to likely as much as six months or more of the year. In addition, travelers need to be alert to both the prospect of wildlife viewing and sometime close encounters in the road.

"The Milepost" provides maps, diagrams, photographs, and most of all, an almost mile-by-mile travelogue of what to expect along the main roads in the North Country. This detailed information will allow the traveler to locate the next gas station, campground, hotel, or scenic spot in areas where signs and billboards may be scarce. The text is seeded with advertisements for many of the commercial establishments along the Alaska Highway in Canada and the limited major road network in Alaska, allowing travelers to plan ahead for scarce beds. Travelers can also plan ahead for fishing charters on the world-famous Kenai Peninsula or the operating hours of the few but often fascinating small museums and roadside attractions that can be found along the way.

The annual updating of "The Milepost" assures the traveler of some advance notice for construction or major changes in the road network. "The Milepost" does include some information on the location of trailheads, but serious walkers, bikers, and snowmachiners should seek elsewhere for detailed information on off-road routes. This guide includes convenient scheduling information for the Alaska Marine Highway System and directions to the digital version of "The Milepost."

This publication is very highly recommended to both the resident and the visitor in Alaska and Northwest Canada, which are some of the most scenic parts of North America. Don't leave the lower '48 without it.

First, there are not many travel guides for the Alaska Highway and the other areas covered in this book. There is quite a bit of helpful information as is but not really enough. I feel that it really falls short and is not nearly as good as the Milepost editions of days gone by as I have been traveling this road off and on for the past 30 years.

Second, The information is way too tainted by who advertises in this travel guide. If they advertise there is info on gas, lodging, etc. If there is no one who advertises in a particular area then there is no mention of services for that area. To me that is incomplete information and really sucks! I also feel that there should be better info for the different seasons as to what is open and not open. Don't buy gas at the fancy new lodge on Muncho Lake (Northern Rockies Lodge)!!! It is the highest priced fuel on the entire highway by an unreasonable margin and the people are just plain RUDE! Get fuel before leaving Ft. Nelson or after you get to Watson Lake. Make sure you are hungry when you get to Destruction Bay. Then you can eat the best food on the entire highway at the Talbot Arm Motel and Restaurant. I have always had great food for the best price anywhere here!!!

The milepost is THEE book to travel by. This will be our fifth trip to Alaska and we've had a milepost every time. You can't get lost; everything is spelled out by the mile; gas stations, motels, camp grounds, grocery stores, museums and places of interest, even fishing spots! The book is complete with maps and pictures. It is so complete, you almost don't need to leave home to enjoy the sights.
Linda J. Gorman, Fleming, OH

I have never seen anything as complete as this "bible" of everyting Alaskan. It is a travel guide, road condition guide, fisherman's guide and anyting else you ever wanted to know about the state and surronding provinces. I used it two years ago on my first trip to Alaska, and would have missed many things without it. They do revise it every year; I checked and found some things different from my 2007 version to the 2009 one. It is laid out by highway with mileage to and from major points. In addition, side roads are integrated within the major highway listings with their own mileage markers.
Whether you are flying, driving, or going by ferry, it is a "gotta have".

We are planning an RV trip to Alaska, a longtime dream of ours. This book has been so helpful with planning the "what-where-when-how" aspects of our long journey. The enclosed map has been useful too, as my atlas wasn't giving me enought detail. So glad I bought it. I'd recommend it to anyone heading to "the Great Land".

This book is essential if you are planning a road trip to Alaska from Seattle or are just planning a few short trips within the state's road system. Not only are the roads described practically mile-by-mile, but it covers the marine highway system's car ferries from the south-eastern part of Alaska along south central Alaska and out to south western part of the state. Essential contact information for the various Alaska and Canadian tourist agencies is throughout the book.
Well worth the purchase price

The Milepost 2009 by Kris Valencia the book that has been the Bible of North Courntry Travel since before Alaska was a state is now revised and updated for its 61st Edition. No one should go to Alaska without it! It includes maps, camping, restroom stops, handicap travel , every kind of transportation, all about wildlife and birds, gas stations, recreation of all kinds, and guides you Mile by Mile through this vast state, covering every mile of anywhere you could choose to go, by foot or any means of transportation. You will learn about the best sightseeing and wildlife viewing so you can plan your trip well before you go, as well as the contact information for accommodations and restaurangs. It is updated each year by editors in the field, so they can really tell you accurately the conditions and information you need. Be SURE to take this with you, as ANYONE who has been to Alaska will tell you. It is the First thing to pack!

The Milepost 2009: Alaska Travel Planner
This book is a very useful travel guide for anyone traveling anywhere along the alaskan highway or in alaska itself. the book has mile by mile updates on the roads, where bathrooms, pullouts, camping grounds, hotels, restaurants (pretty much anyhting you might want to know). it also has detailed fact sections about each city/province along the way, with its history, and things to do in the cities. Definitely a must by for anyone about to make the trip.

I knew that this book was designed specifically for those driving on the Alaskan Highway, which I was not going to do. I flew into Anchorage then flew to several other Alaskan cities, including Barrow. Still, since this book was so highly rated I decided to buy it before my trip thinking that the information would still be useful. Not so much.

This review is not saying that The Milepost is not helpful to those driving to or in Alaska. I just what to point out that if you are flying to cities that the highway does not reach, you get no information on that destination at all. Maybe I should have figured that out (since this is a highway guide) but it is also billed as a travel planner. Barrow was not even mentioned (not that I could find anyway). Plus, since I was not driving I found the format very confusing since it is divided into destinations reached by a specific highway, not necessarily by geography. Another point, this book has a very high percentage of it's pages space given to ads. I almost felt that it was a commercial travel brochure, not an impartial travel guide.

Anyway, I left it home and brought my copy of Frommers guidebook to Alaska instead. If you are driving the Alcan, this is the book for you. If you are taking a cruise through the inland passage or flight-seeing, maybe it isn't the best choice.

Frommer's Alaska 2009 (Frommer's Complete)

I suppose anyone driving up the Alaska Highway has a copy of Milepost with them. We did. We are planning another trip to Alaska in a couple of years and I would bring our copy but I would never buy another. It has some serious flaws. First, it only mentions campgrounds that advertize in it. The are campgrounds that are very good that are never mentioned. The biggest flaw is that it has too much detail. It is impossible to use while moving. It often describes s different feature every tenth of a mile. It will tell you things like when truck lanes begin and end to the tenth of a mile and when you are crossing the bridge over some creek you have never heard of and could care less about. Another flaw is that much of the data is out-of-date. There are ads for campgrounds along with annotations described the mile marker when the campground has been closed for years. I assume the campground paid for an ad for something like 5 years and then closed after 1 year. The only use for the book is to read the night before a days drive to get an idea of what lies ahead but I would never use it for anything like selecting a campground.